Michigan defense smothers Penn State
Shea Patterson accounted for three touchdowns and No. 5 Michigan put together a dominant performance on defense in a 42-7 win against No. 14 Penn State yesterday in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten,) moved a step closer toward their goals of winning a conference championship for the first time since 2004 and earning their first spot in the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-3) scored with 1:59 left, avoiding getting shut out for the first time since 2001 against Michigan. Karan Higdon ran for 132 yards and a score that put the Wolverines up 35-0 early in the fourth quarter. Michigan’s defense held Penn State to 186 yards and forced three turnovers, including Tommy Stevens’ interception that was returned 62 yards by Brandon Watson for its second score in the final minute of the third quarter.
Clemson 77, Louisville 16 — Travis Etienne ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns and 350-pound defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence added a 2-yard scoring burst as the No. 2 Tigers (9-0, 6-0 ACC) crushed the Cardinals (2-7, 0-6) in Clemson, S.C. Clemson improved to 9-0 for the third time in four seasons and can wrap up its fourth Atlantic Division title next week at Boston College.
Ohio State 36, Nebraska 31 — J.K. Dobbins ran for three touchdowns and Dwayne Haskins Jr. passed for two scores to help the No. 8 Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) hold off the Cornhuskers (2-7, 1-5) in Columbus, Ohio. After Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to JD Spielman to pull within five with 3 minutes left, Dobbins pounded away for two first downs to kill the clock.
West Virginia 42, Texas 41 — Will Grier threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Gary Jennings with 16 seconds left, then ran in the two-point conversion to send the 12thranked Mountaineers (7-1, 5-1 Big 12) to a thrilling win against the No. 15 Longhorns (6-3, 4-2) in Austin, Texas. Grier broke his finger on a run to the pylon during a loss to Texas last year, and his game-winning run came on a similar scramble. The 2-point conversion came moments after Grier connected with David Sills. Texas had called timeout just before the ball was snapped so the Mountaineers had to line up again. Grier dropped back, took a step into the pocket, and then swung out to his left to break for the corner of the end zone.
Missouri 38, Florida 17 — Drew Lock picked apart the No. 13 Gators (6-3, 4-3 SEC) for the second straight year, throwing three TD passes to lead the Tigers (5-4, 1-4) to a victory in Gainesville, Fla. Lock completed 24-of-32 passes for 250 yards, with scoring throws to Albert Okwuegbunam, Kam Scott and Emanuel Hall that stunned the Swamp.
Arizona State 38, Utah 20 — In Tempe, Ariz., Manny Wilkins threw three TD passes to N’Keal Harry and the Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3) knocked the No. 16 Utes (6-3, 4-3) out of sole possession of first in the Pac-12 South. Utah lost quarterback Tyler Huntley to an apparent shoulder or arm injury in the third quarter.
Purdue 38, Iowa 36 — In West Lafayette, Ind., Spencer Evans made a 25-yard field goal with 8 seconds left, giving the Boilermakers (5-4, 4-2) an upset of the No. 19 Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-3) and putting them back in the hunt for the Big Ten West Division crown. Purdue’s David Blough threw three touchdown passes to Terry Wright and topped the 300-yard mark for the fifth time this season.
Syracuse 41, Wake Forest 24 — Eric Dungey rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, Jarveon Howard ran for two TDs and the No. 22 Orange (7-2, 4-2 ACC) topped the Demon Deacons (4-5, 1-4) in Winston-Salem, N.C. Dungey — whose average of 294.1 total yards per game ranks second in the ACC — was 23-of-35 for 157 yards and also ran for a 26-yard score to help the Orange win their first game as a Top 25 team since the Dwight Freeney days in 2001.
Auburn 28, Texas A&M 24 — Seth Williams caught an 11yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham with 1:41 left and the Tigers (6-3, 3-3 SEC) rallied to beat the Aggies (5-4, 3-3) in Auburn, Ala. Auburn had a 14-point outburst inthe final 5:14 and the defense came up with big stops. Stidham delivered on both final drives. In New England action:
Holy Cross 40, Lafayette 14 — Domenic Cozier ran for three touchdowns, Geoff Wade threw for two scores and the Crusaders (3-6, 2-2 Patriot) smashed the Leopards (3-6, 2-3) in Worcester. Lafayette scored all its points in the first quarter on Nick Pearson’s 3-yard TD run with 5:30 remaining in the quarter, and three minutes later, C.J. Amil ran for a 58-yard score. Holy Cross took control in the second when Derek Ng got the Crusaders on the board with a 36-yard field goal, Crozier scored from 1-yard out with 8:54 before halftime, and with 3:08 left, he again ran it in from 1-yard out for a 17-14 lead.